Last year I fell in love with Thor Hanson's Buzz, a deep dive into the evolution, biology, and purpose of bees. I loved the digestible and humourous writing, making it one of my favorite non-fiction books I've read in a long time. The Triumph of Seeds is written in a very similar manner, breaking down the vast history and human connection of seeds into bite-sized chapters: covering the likes of coffee, cotton, and poisonous plants.

This one took me a while to get through. I admit that I was busy with starting a new job and tying up end-of-summer to-do lists, but I found myself less interested in this book compared to Buzz—which I chalk up entirely to the subject matter. Hanson's writing is just as inviting and well-composed as the latter, but I just found the inner workings and various lifestyles of bees more interesting. I don't regret reading this one bit though, and I look forward to Hanson's upcoming book on climate change's effect on nature and biology.

Some of my favorite tidbits from The Triumph of Seeds:

-The entire chapter detailing the formation of coal from Carboniferous forests and preservation bias (p. 60)

-The journey of De Clieu's coffee tree and it's subsequent effect on Europe and colonialism (p. 145)

-Noelle Machnicki's curt explanation of the purpose of capsaicin in plants, specifically in defense against fungus and foragers (p. 137)

-My eyes being opened to the universal usage of guar gum (p. 49)

-The mystery of seed cell structure memory during inactivity/dehydration (p. 99)